Tim Eriksen & The Trio De Pumpkintown will perform at Sandywoods

Tim Eriksen transforms American tradition with his startling interpretations of old songs from New England and Southern Appalachia.

On Saturday, Feb. 8, Tim Eriksen & The Trio De Pumpkintown will perform "Songs from an Imaginary New England Village" at Sandywoods Center for the Arts.

Love songs of the sea, fiddle tunes, ballads, shape-note and Afro/Celtic gospel — much of the Trio's music comes from Pumpkintown's diverse early inhabitants: Yankees, Africans, Native Americans, Irish, Scottish and Germans. They write their own music too, and you can hear it all on the new album "Josh Billings Voyage."

Tim Eriksen transforms American tradition with his startling interpretations of old songs from New England and Southern Appalachia. He combines hair-raising vocals with inventive accompaniment on banjo, fiddle, guitar, and bajo sexto - a twelve string Mexican acoustic bass - creating a distinctive hardcore Americana sound that ranges from the bare bones of solo unaccompanied singing to the lush, multi-layered arrangements found on Josh Billings Voyage. Widely recognized as one of the best ballad singers in the world, Eriksen has performed and recorded with Jack White, Ralph Stanley, Elvis Costello, Omar Sosa, and Kathy Mattea.

Tim, the former frontman for Cordelia's Dad, has "one of the best voices in music" (T Bone Burnett), a voice that is featured on the award-winning "Cold Mountain" film soundtrack. The New York Times has praised his "stark songs and breakneck picking," and the Toronto Star calls him "among the world's finest folk practitioners." He has shared the stage with performers as diverse as Kurt Cobain and Doc Watson, and has played everywhere from CBGB to Carnegie Hall, from Prairie Home Companion to the Academy Awards to the Newport, Philadelphia, and Falcon Ridge folk festivals. As a renowned ethnomusicologist and teacher, he has taught everyone from kindergarteners to Nicole Kidman, Elvis Costello, and Sting.

At Sandywoods, he will be joined by Zoe Darrow on fiddle and Peter Irvine on hand percussion.

Sandywoods is located at 43 Muse Way, Tiverton. The show begins at 8 p.m. Doors open 7:30. BYOB and BYOF (food). Tickets are $15 advance, $18 at the door. Reserve advance tickets by calling 401-241-7349. Leave message with your name and number of tickets desired. You'll pay the advance price at the door.

For more information on the Sandywoods event, visit www.sandywoodsmusic.com. For more information about the band, visit timeriksenmusic.com.